Around the NFL week 9

[SunnySide]

Throughout the build-up to the 2017 NFL draft, many scouts and pundits pegged this year’s quarterback class as a three-man affair between Mitchell Trubisky, Deshaun Watson, and DeShone Kizer. With a series of strong workouts — and a glut of other options on the free agent landscape — a big-armed fourth candidate has emerged from the Big 12.

Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes has had a meteoric rise through the pre-draft process, working his way from a third day option to potential first-round pick. The Browns, Texans, Chiefs, and Cardinals have all been linked to the Red Raider quarterback. As mock drafts scramble to keep up, he’s been projected to go anywhere from Arizona’s No. 13 pick to the Chargers at No. 38.

After a two-day visit with Houston, it seems unlikely he’ll slip past the 25th pick, where SB Nation’s Dan Kadar has him landing in his latest mock draft.

Drafting Mahomes will be a calculated risk

Mahomes has risen to the top of an underwhelming crop of quarterbacks. His NCAA numbers and physical talent suggest he’s No. 2 to only Deshaun Watson, but history pegs him as a backup at best.

A deeper look at his skill set shows he’s somewhere in between. His arm strength gives him the ability to make the throws that can beat even the tightest coverage. He’s more mobile than his predecessors, and he’s shown he can buy enough time in the pocket to extend plays, then make throws on the run to frustrate defenses.

His experience with Texas Tech, however, shows he’ll squander sure thing short gains to attempt big shots downfield. He can force throws that turn the frustration back on his own coaching staff. He can be skittish and undisciplined in the pocket, turning plays that rely on timing into free-for-alls with a lower chance of success. All these traits could sink his professional prospects.

But quarterbacks with the arm strength to make plays few passers can will always have a place in the NFL’s hype cannon. Sometimes that works out well (Aaron Rodgers), other times it’s a wash (Cutler), but history shows playmakers like Mahomes have a home in the first round.
https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2017/4/...xans-cardinals

KC and Reid took a chance and it paid off.